Lacing



(No Model.)

F.. s. MGKENNBY.

LAGING.

No. 437,836. Patented Oct. 7,1890.

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@uw MMM/#47% UNrTnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANKLIN S. MCISENNEY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

LACING.

SECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent 110,437,836, dated October 7, 1890.

Application filed January 16, 1889. Serial No. 296,532. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANKLIN S. MCKEN- NEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, county of Vayne, State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvementin Laeings; and I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improved lacing adapted for shoes, gloves, corsets, and anale: gous uses of various kinds; and it consists of the devices and appliances, with their combinations and arrangements, as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, and more particularly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure l illustrates my invention applied to a shoe, showing the shoe laced up and provided for a portion of its length with hooks. Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line a', Fig. 1, showing the construction of the shoe. Fig. 3 is a section on the line y y, Fig. l; and Figs. 4 and 5 are separate views illustrating the construction of one of my improved shanks.

Among the objects of my invention are embraced the following, to wit: first, to provide a blind lacing, the lacing-cord itself being concealed and protected from the external wear and unsightliness incident to ordinary lacing; second, to provide a lacing wherein the cord is not liable to get out of place, but is held in position about the shanks; third, the employment of my blind lacing for a desired distance, in combination with ordinary hooks the remainder of the distance; fourth, the setting of the shanks opposite each other on the two edges of the article or faces to be brought together; fifth, the construction of the shanks themselves; sixth, the manner in which the Shanks are set in the article to be laced, and, seventh, the general construction and arrangement herein set forth.

I carry out my invention as follows: A A represent the upper of a shoe. My invention contemplates the construction of the meeting edges of the upper each with an inner facing, betweenwhich and the outer facing the shanls are located. Accordingly A denotes the inner facing. This facing may be united to the upper by being stitched thereto or otherwise engaged therewith, and consists of one or more additional strips of leather or other fabric. The inner facing may be ext-ended, as shown in Fig. 3to form a tongue A2, to serve the ordinary functions for which a tongue is used, or, as shown in Fig. 2, the tongue may consist of a separate additional piece suit-ably united to the shoe.

Between the outer and inner facings I engage my shanks a a, the. These Shanks are designed and arranged to permit the lacingcord B to be passed around them in the manner shown, space being left between the facin gs behind the Shanks to permit the free introduction of the cord. The cord is then passed about the shanks on the opposite edges of the upper alternately back and forth, as is Y customary in common methods of lacing.

I would have it understood that I do not limit myself to any particular construction of the shanks alone, as they may be variously constructed within the scope of my invention and engaged in various ways between the facings. I prefer, however, that the Shanks should be engaged to both the outer and inner facings, so as to effectually prevent the cord getting out of place about the shanks. Vhen they are engaged thus to both facings, it is obvious that the cord cannot slip over the Shanks, and consequently will remain permanently in place. The bother and time of engaging the cord over each shank every time the article is to be laced is entirelyovercome, the cord being always ready to be tightened by simply gathering up its ends and pulling thereupon.

A desirable form of bearing, as illustrated in the drawings, may be constructed of a tubular stem Uf, with or without a button` head a2, and provided with a double flanged or grooved ring e3. This ring maybe formed integrally with the stem or sleeved thereupon, as may be preferred. The stem when headed may be passed through the outer facing and the said ring, its opposite or inner end being clinched upon the inner facing, as shown in Fig. 3, where the inner end of the stem is lianged outward to engage the inner lacing. It is apparent that a stein alone may serve the purpose of a shank without the ring. By

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using the ring, however, inserted between the facings, the facings are kept apart thereby, so as to leavea freer movement of the cord and rendering the operation of lacing and unlacing easier.

In Fig. 1 I have illustrated a very desirable combination of the improved lacing, which I have now explainedm'ith an ordinaryarrangement of hooks D upon the upper. Thus the blind lacing may be employed at the lower ends of the meeting edges, this form extending upward to anydesired point, the cord being concealed so far, and then carried outward to be passed over the hooks the remainder of the distance in the usual way and fastened at the top. In unlacing, the blind portion of the lacing is readily loosened by simply pulling the two edges of the upper apart, the .cord remaining in place about the shanks. This form of lacing is tightened again by simply pulling on the cord. Where the Shanks are set opposite each other on the two edges of the upper, the cord may be doubled and its ends passed back and forth about the Shanks; but by setting the Shanks so as to alternate on the two edges a single end or cord may be used.

By the use of this lacing a superior neatness of appearance is attained, as well as a more ready and expeditious result. So, also, the one edge may be provided with headed Shanks and simulated buttonholes. Where vinvisible Shanks are desired, they may simply be engaged beneath the exterior surface ofthe upper between the facings without eX- tending through the upper, such a construction being shown in Figs. 6 and '7.

What I claim as my invention is 1. AS an improved article of manufacture, aShoe-fastening consisting of a shoe provided with an inner and an outer facing upon each of its adjacent edges, a series of, Shanks located between the said facin gs alonga portion of the length of their adjacent edges, and external hookslocated upon said edges, respectively, along the remainder of their length, substantially as set forth.

2. As an article of manufacture, the shank herein described, consisting of a stem provided with a grooved ring and a solid head a2, substantially as set forth.

3. AS an improved article of manufacture, a shoe-fastening consisting of a shoe provided with an inner and an outer facing upon each of its adjacent edges, a series of Shanks located between the said facings along a portion of the length of their adjacent edges, eX- ternal hooks located upon Said edges, respectively, along the remainder of their length, and a cord passed back and forth about said Shanks and about said hooks when the article is laced, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANKLIN S. MCKENNEY. IVitnesses:

N. S. WRIGHT, CHAs. F. SALow. 

